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Yes.

The National Football League announced on May 22, 2023, that Green Bay would host the 2025 draft in and around Lambeau Field.

Two Green Bay-area state lawmakers are asking that the state’s next budget include $2 million to help stage the event, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The 2023 draft, a three-day event held in April in Kansas City, drew more than 312,000 people, according to the league.

The only other time the NFL draft took place in Wisconsin was on Dec. 9, 1939, when it was held in Milwaukee. The draft was done downtown at the Schroeder Hotel, now the Hilton Milwaukee City Center.

It is known as the 1940 draft because the players drafted were eligible to play in the NFL starting in the 1940 season. Among those attending were Packers co-founder Earl “Curly” Lambeau, for whom Lambeau Field is named, according to Green Bay Packers team historian Cliff Christl.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Green Bay Packers The NFL Draft will return to Wisconsin after 85 years

Pro Football Hall of Fame History of NFL Draft Host Cities

National Football League 2022 NFL Record and Fact Book

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Two lawmakers push for $2 million in the state budget to help pay the costs of the Packers hosting the NFL draft

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Tom Kertscher joined as a Wisconsin Watch fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who has worked as a self-employed journalist since 2019. His gigs include contributing writer for PolitiFact and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.